Will This Year’s New iPhones Come in Gold, Blue, Red and Orange?

Well-known and oft-accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo returned to the Apple rumor mill last month. And now, Kuo is back with a new prediction for 2018’s iPhones.

Namely, Kuo expects that this year’s iPhone lineup could come in an expanded assortment of color options, the analyst wrote in a TF Securities research note that was distributed last week.

The analyst predicts that the 6.5-inch OLED iPhone X Plus could come in black, white and a new gold finish. The mid-range 6.1-inch LCD iPhone could make its lineup debut this year with “grey, white, blue, red and orange” casing color options.

It’s worth noting that Kuo didn’t mention which colors the 5.8-inch iPhone X successor would be available in. That might mean that it could only launch in Silver and Space Gray like its predecessor — or it could share its casing finishes with its larger 6.5-inch stablemate.

The iPhone X was largely expected to debut in a gold finish last year, but Apple apparently faced manufacturing issues getting the color to work. At least one prototype gold iPhone was pictured in a regulatory filing with the Federal Communications Commission, however.

Other New Predictions for iPhone

Kuo also made a couple other 2018 iPhone forecasts in his research note. For one, the analyst expects both the 6.5-inch OLED and 6.1-inch LCD iPhones to sport dual-SIM capabilities. The 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus will occupy the $999 price tier, while the LCD iPhone could retail for “lower than $700,” Kuo added.

As far as market performance, Kuo said the 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus could see a higher demand than the iPhone X. The LCD iPhone is expected to spur replacement demands thanks to its lower price point and premium features.

Kuo has an excellent track record of predicting and obtaining accurate information about Apple’s future plans. While the former KGI Securities analyst was said to be shifting his focus away from Apple products in his new position at TF Securities, this is his second Apple-related research note in the last couple of months.

And Kuo’s most recent report is already being corroborated by other sources.

Steve Hemmerstoffer of OnLeaks, for example, reported on July 5 that Apple is prototyping a yellow and pink iPhone finish, in addition to red, blue and orange. Hemmerstoffer added that the “black” iPhone finish Kuo mentions is probably Space Gray, while “Grey” is likely a lighter grey (or possibly a silver).

It’s also not the first time that we heard about an expanded color offering for this year’s iPhone lineup.

Back in May, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Jun Zhang predicted that the lower-cost 6.1-inch iPhone could come in brighter shades like blue, yellow and pink. In Zhang’s words, the color options could help Apple differentiate the LCD iPhone from the two more expensive OLED devices, as well as help to target a “younger consumer market.”